ONE Our Call and Charism

"Eternal Life is this: To know You, the One True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." – John 17:3 1

1. Moved by a deep experience of God, the situation of the Church, and the reality of his time, Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan was filled with an urgent desire that all people know the one true God and experience fullness of life through Jesus the Savior. His vision was to unite all the apostolic forces in the Church to love and proclaim Jesus as the Savior to a world in need of God. He included people from all ages and all walks of life, working together every­where and by all ways and means.

2. The Salvatorian Family is an expression of the charism, the gift of the Spirit given to Father Jordan for the Church. We trace our common roots back to the Apostolic Teaching Society, founded by Father Jordan on 8 December 1881 in Rome. Diocesan priests were its first members. Therese von Wtillenweber (later Blessed Mary of the Apostles) committed herself to this Society in 1882. Large numbers of laity of all ages joined this foundation.

3. Today the Salvatorian Family has three autonomous branches: the Society of the Divine Savior, The Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Savior, and the International Community of the Divine Savior. We are united by our commitment to the mission as envisioned by our Founder, forming one family of zealous apostles who announce to all the salvation that has appeared in Jesus Christ. (Titus 3:4) Just as Father Jordan's original project evolved over time, we are open to where the Spirit will lead us in the future.

4. We live our call in equality and complementarity in ways appropriate to our diverse states in life, gifts, and cultures.

TWO Our Mission

”….proclaim the word of God, be urgent in season, out of season, rebuke with all patience and teaching. Go, and with perseverance speak all the words of eternal life to the people.” – Father Jordan: Reg. 1884

“Yes, this apostolic spirit we, all of us, have to try to acquire more and more."– Blessed Mary of the Apostles: Letter, June 28, 1900

5. Following in the footsteps of the Savior like the apostles, we are called to live and announce
God’s unconditional love, continuing Jesus’ life-giving work of bringing salvation
to all creation and liberation from all that is a threat to fullness of life. (Matthew
28:19-20, Mark 16:15)

6. Our personal and communal experience of salvation is the dynamic and animating
energy for our mission.

7. We nurture our love for the Church and work within it with a prophetic awareness as
witnesses of the Gospel. Convinced as Father Jordan and Blessed Mary of the Apostles
were of the vocation of all the baptized to be a living force in the Church and for a
just world, we form and support leaders in the work of evangelization.

8. Our spirit of universality is expressed by all ways and means which the love of God
inspires.

a. We open ourselves to the questions and challenges of our historical epoch, allowing
the signs of the time to reveal to us the ways and means to respond.

b. We involve others in our mission and seek to collaborate with those involved
in promoting truth, justice and the defense of life, making a preferential option
for the poor and for those whose humanity and dignity are not recognized.

c. We make the eternal truths of the Word of God and our Faith accessible to
persons of any culture, race, ethnic group, social class, nationality and religion.

d. We live a spirit of dialog in inter-cultural, inter-religious, and inter-denominational
environments.

9. Each branch of the Salvatorian Family expresses our common mission in its own particular
way.

THREE Our Spirituality

“I throw myself into Your arms, my Savior and Redeemer. With you, for You, through You and in You, I want to live and die.” – Father Jordan: Spiritual Diary I, 9: 15 November 1875

“Yes, let us zealously pray and work that the will of Jesus, ‘Your Kingdom come’, be fulfilled.”– Blessed Mary of the Apostles: Letter, May 20, 1901

10. Lived in the real world, our personal and communal spirituality is rooted in our experience
of God the Father. Jesus Christ, who came to give life to all, is the Source and
the Center of our spirituality. With Mary, His mother, we bear to others the Savior we
have come to know ourselves. The Holy Spirit guides and enlightens us along the
way.

11. In our meditation and contemplation on the Word of God in light of our reality and in
the celebration of the Sacraments, we integrate our prayer and action. In so doing, we
strive to live our call to holiness and encourage others to do the same.

12. The witness of Father Jordan and Blessed Mary of the Apostles inspires us to be persons
of prayer, to embrace the Cross for the sake of our mission, to have an unshakeable
trust in Divine Providence and to live a simple lifestyle, and to have a special devotion
to Mary as the Mother of the Savior.

13. We manifest the goodness and kindness of God both in our mission and in our way of
relating as a Salvatorian Family. In prayer and dialog, we seek to understand one another
and are ready to forgive.

FOUR Our Collaboration

“Above all, the members shall cultivate mutual charity so that… they show themselves to be companions of the Apostles, taking as their special legacy the words of our greatest Master, Jesus Christ…, ’A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, you too shall love each other.’” – Rules for the First Grade of the Apostolic Teaching Society 1882

14. As a Salvatorian Family, we seek to provide a visible witness of men and women
from diverse cultures and backgrounds working side-by-side in mission. We nurture
trust and respect for the differences among us, learn from one another, and value the
contribution that each is able to make for our life and mission.

15. Although the three branches are autonomous, it is in our lived interaction that we
also express our charism. We collaborate with one another in new initiatives where
the gifts of all are needed and by assisting the other branches, when possible, in their
respective apostolates and activities.

16. The whole Salvatorian Family shares in the responsibility to promote mutual understanding
and a growing sense of common identity by participating in gatherings, dialog
and common projects.

17. Our leaders coordinate interaction among us and promote an awareness of our identity
and universality as a Salvatorian Family and a commitment to solidarity among
the three branches.

a. At the national level in countries where there are members of two or three
branches of the Salvatorian Family, collaboration is promoted by meetings of
their leadership bodies and by a national coordinating team with representatives
from each branch.

b. At the international level, collaboration is promoted by meetings of the leadership
bodies, by joint commissions, and by General Chapters of the Fathers/Brothers
and Sisters and meetings of the Board of the International
Community of the Divine Savior in the same calendar year.

c. The leaders of each of the three branches collaborate in making decisions directly
impacting the entire Salvatorian Family.

Conclusion

As followers of Father Francis Jordan and Blessed Mary of the Apostles, and imbued with
their missionary spirit, we accept this charter as an expression of our identity as a Salvatorian
Family. We ask the intercession of Father Francis and Blessed Mary of the Apostles that
each of us will assume our Salvatorian vocation with zeal and with gratitude.